Five Roles Of Art" (Reflections on Book: Art As Therapy - J. Armstrong pp.66-72)
Five roles of art there seem to be –
First technical – technique to me;
Group pictures up to show technique
These artists used, both strong and weak.Political’s a second role –
Support for cause, make meaning full
For those who need persuading more;
A line to buy; or know the score.Then history of course makes three –
The way they set up galleries
(One room for eighteenth century) –
Not helpful much, it seems to me.Shock value’s always been a theme
That fills a role for art, it seems;
For artists on the leading edge
Of thought, can push one off the ledge.Now this guy posits one more role
For art – the task of making whole
Unbalanced psyches – makes his case
For helping out the human race.To me he overplays his hand –
Sub-theme at best throughout the land;
Not “always”, “only”, if you please,
But “sometimes” such a role we need.All five roles have their place to me –
And now with our technology,
A database which sorts all five
Could be a tool to let art thrive.navigation